Now, my apologies to any blind... er, visually challenged... er, differently sighted person that is reading this, but this is insane.

If a theater chain or movie production company wanted to do this on their own stick? Fine. A noble gesture. But for the government to demand it under penalty of law? Madness. The slippery slope to Harrison Bergeron and greasing the skids.

It's also a little futile and even kinda patronizing. It's like having a sighted tour guide at art museums:

"Now, this is da Vinci's Mona Lisa. It looks like... well... you know what a smiling woman looks like? No, wait, you said you've been blind since birth. Anyhow, it's a girl, and she's smiling. And this over here... no, over here... is Van Gogh's Roses and Sunflowers. It's, uh, some flowers. And over here..."

Heh. Talking in theaters now mandatory!Yeah, it would probably involve a headset, but it's still stupid. Among other things, it's further proof, as if we needed it, that Obama and his pack of cretinous communists hate business.

As someone who is facing the very real possibility of losing his sight (having already lost it in one eye - I don't want to hear anything about shooting with both eyes open...), the idea of having someone describe what's going on on the screen would be annoying as hell. Let me listen to the ambient sound, the dialogue, don't natter on at me about what's important to you on the screen. It's a visual medium, it's just not going to work for me if/when I can't see it - that's something I'll have to live with, if it comes to that.

Had a friend in Big D who was blind. He went to movies and enjoyed them just fine. He might lean over and ask a question if the scene was a quiet one with no audible cues, but mostly he just had a good time.

I have two acquaintances (I had to look up the spelling as the coffee hasn't kicked in yet) who go to movies together. One is blind, the other almost entirely deaf. One describes the scene and the other repeats the dialog- loudly. They enjoy themselves immensely while annoying the hell out of the nearby patrons. Me, I'm half-blind and going deaf- I demand Braille porno flicks!

Sounds like the Ministry of Propaganda wants to have the tech in place so when they start to show " Obama! Savior of the World!" (directed by Oliver Stone, screenplay by Michael Moore, starring Kanye "George Bush hates Black People" West, Sean Penn, and a cast of thousands) no Comrade...err Citizen will have an excuse to miss it.

Something came up at a local theater, about putting handicapped only signs for the spaces left open - that had to be with braille, too. Like, how does a blind person know to look for the signs with braille?

As for going to the movies - that was what I had suggested. Going out with friends, even if you cannot see the picture, makes sense. The popcorn (at one of the theaters, anyway, is really good - a special treat. Following the story shouldn't be a lot different than following life. Except I would hope the blind know enough (unlike sighted buttheads and their parents) not to light up a cell phone for a flashlight during the show.

Putting braille "Exit" on the emergency signs would blow my mind - they are purposely set higher than someone could reach. . . Maybe require, like California, that exit signs speak "Emergency exit here", just like CA makes those quiet electric cars make noises so they don't sneak up on blind folk.

Forget I mentioned this. Because first thing you know, it would be "For Spanish Mens Room Turn Left From The Center Of the Lobby When Entering. For English Mens Room Turn Left From The Center of the Lobby When Entering. For Dill Pickles approach the concession stand on the left from the center of the lobby when you enter. For the French Ladys Room. . ."

Years ago a blind friend and I talked about what he got out of TV. He said he could get a lot of what was going on with some types of shows but not others. He could generally follow sitcoms like "Three's Company" but he couldn't follow action/adventure shows like "Mission:Impossible".

So, let me get this straight. Blind people will have to listen to a second audio feed on top of the normal dialog and sounds coming from the actual movie? Wouldn't it be easier if the blind just listened to audiobooks?

Hmmm... What else can Uncle Sugar do to eliminate all the unfairness of life?

--- For people who can't speak, pre-recorded messages such as "Please be quiet; I can't hear the movie", "Could you please take your child outside", and "Turn that cel phone off before I stick it up your a$$!"

--- Interpreters for people who are deaf and illiterate

--- Movies with subtitles and / or voice-overs in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Persian, Swahili, Tagalog, Norwegian, Lapplander, and whatever it is that people from Lichtenstein speak, because movies shouldn't discriminate against people who don't speak English, either

--- Besides popcorn, cokes, and candy, the concession stand needs to offer a variety of foods to cater to the dietary needs / desires of a diverse population

--- Special offices for interest-free government loans because, as high as movie prices are now, wait'll you see the cost when all this crap goes into effect!

Lergnom and Mattexian: My wife talks about the music group at college that were hiring a baritone for a production. They had made their were selection and were ready to sign the contract when someone at HR noticed that no women had applied for the job and insisted that they start over....

WV: motrin (I kid you not!) - what I need after hearing about things like this; known as "Vitamin M" to Navy HMs.